Tag Archive: ALE

The brew crew at Speakeasy Ales & Lagers are ringing in their 14th birthday at an afternoon bash for the public with the release of their latest creation, Butchertown Black Ale. On Saturday, August 27th from 12-7 PM, the Prohibition-themed microbrewery will become an outdoor block party: live bands, delicious food trucks, local companies, and of course plenty of cold kegs.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers is a microbrewery in San Francisco’s Bayview District. Since being founded in 1997, it has grown to become a San Francisco landmark with its Big Daddy IPA, Prohibition Ale, and other refreshing brews.

Welcome to take 7 of epiSUDS! In this take we attend the California Beer Festival in Aptos, California. You’ll see we had a great time tried some really good beer and met a lot of interesting people. If you haven’t been to this event make sure you check it out next year and buy your tickets early and don’t arrive late. http://www.californiabeerfestival.com/santacruz.html

The stand out beer for me at this event was the Anderson Valley’s Summer Solstice Ale. This was an amazing beer with great flavor and I would highly recommend trying it.

I was shocked that Bruvado Imports consistently had the longest line of all the tents we visited. Scott and his team did a great job getting everyone a refreshing Michelada before the end of the day. For those of you who dont know a Michelada is a Mexican cerveza prepared with beer, tomato juice (or Clamato), lime juice, and assorted sauces, spices, and pepper. 😉 http://www.bruvado.com/

Check out my interview with Scott and the other brewers above and let us know what you think.

OK everyone, the attached video was taken last Thursday at Pyramid Brewery in Berkley Ca.. The below press release was sent out 07/15/11 in regard to Pyramid updating their packaging and loosing this HAYWIRE name. I’d like to thank Ryan and Simon for taking the time to speak with us and we look forward to trying some of the beers coming out in the near future.

BERKELEY, CA—In response to customer feedback—Pyramid Hefeweizen will return to its roots and original name—officially dropping the name “Haywire” from its packaging.

“Moving away from the tradition that made us great was a mistake,” said Ryan Daley, brand manager for Pyramid. “Our consumers connected with our Pacific Northwest heritage and craft beer brewing tradition. When we changed our Pyramid Hefeweizen packaging and name, they felt disconnected. Our beer no longer reflected our rich history.”

Pyramid Hefeweizen was first introduced in 1993 as an authentic, unfiltered American-style hefeweizen. Brewed with pale barley, wheat and caramel malts and nugget and liberty hops, Pyramid Hefeweizen has a 5.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and rates 18 on the international bittering units (IBU) scale. In 2004 and 2009, Pyramid Hefeweizen won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and numerous international honors at the World Beer Cup.

In 2008, Pyramid Breweries added the name “Haywire” and changed its packaging to differentiate from other Hefeweizen brands and attract new beer drinkers. The beer remained the same.

“By moving away from our roots, people viewed us differently. It didn’t take us long to figure out that we needed to change,” added Daley. “Our consumers are at the heart of everything we do and we intend on listening moving forward.”

Pyramid Hefeweizen packaging also will get a facelift.

“We’ve made some minor packaging changes right away but we will be talking with beer drinkers and unveiling a new design later this year that is more reminiscent of the tradition and heritage of the Pyramid brand and the Pacific Northwest,” said Daley.

Pyramid Hefeweizen is available in six, 12 and 24-pack bottles, and 12-pack cans at grocery, convenience and drug stores throughout the country. In addition, it is also available in 22 ounce bottles, on draft and 12 ounce cans that hit store shelves this summer.

“Beer lovers have enjoyed the smooth flavor of Pyramid Hefeweizen since we first began brewing it in the early 90s,” said Simon Pesch, head brewer, Pyramid Brewery, Berkeley. “The guys at the brewery are lifting their glasses as we return to our roots and honor the heritage of Hefe.”

About Pyramid Brewing Co.
Based in the Pacific Northwest, Pyramid Breweries, Inc. began as Hart Brewing in 1984 and launched the flagship brand of Pyramid Ales. In 1996, the company was reborn as Pyramid Breweries and currently offers craft beers produced under the Pyramid family of ales and lagers. With breweries in Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, and Berkeley, CA, Pyramid also owns Alehouses at all three locations and two additional Alehouses in Walnut Creek and Sacramento, CA.

Pyramid brewers have earned 15 medals at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), including the honor of Mid-size Brewery of the Year in 2008. The brewery also has been awarded seven medals in international competition at the World Beer Cup.

Pyramid Breweries, Inc. is part of North American Breweries.

For more information about Pyramid Breweries visit, http://www.pyramidbrew.com/ or http://twitter.com/#!/pyramidbrew.

This epiSUD is on the Almanac Beer Co. Summer 2010 Blackberry Ale. Almanac is an up and coming gypsy brewer who has made a huge impact on the local beer industry with the amazing release of this Belgian-style ale. This limited release micro brew was aged in oak wine barrels for 11 months with 4 different styles of hand picked blackberries. This is a very complex beer with a strong aroma of blackberries that is very subtle in the flavor. Almanac is planning on quarterly release’s of new beers and if this first ale is what we can expect I cant wait to see what they have planned for their next release.